Ironing machine



C. A. PETERSON IRONING MACHINE Filed Dec. 25- 1925 March 27, 1928. v v 1,663,669

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TT RNEY a zgwf 1 J7 J4 27 Jk Z5 c. A. PETERSON IRON-ING MACHINE Filed Dec. 23. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 gUINVENTOR 74 ATTO NEY March C. A. PETERSON IRONING MACHINE Filed Dec. 23. 1925 3- Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 6451 /l. PETERSON g, f M ATTORNEY iii] ?atented Mar. 27, 1928.

seen A. rnrnzason, or Anne-swoon-ivmiiongwesniite'roit months MACHINE.

Application filed nece beiea 1925. Serial No. 77,153.

This invention relates to improvements in ironing machines and more particularly to a machine of that character designed for use in laundrics for ironing shirts the principal object of the invention'being to provide an achine whereby it is possible to iron the neck band, bosom and culis of a shirt all at the saine tiine, and in doin so to thereby greatly reduce the time and e'ztpense that heretofore was required due to the fact that these were separate operations.

It is also an object of the inventionto' eliniinate the usual leakage at the connections between the 1ron and its stearn' supply pipes by a construction in which the iron is stationary and the board is moved against and from it, as distinguished from having the board stationary and the iron movable, as is ordinary practice, with flexible connections with the steam pipes.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of adjustable neck band clanip on the ironing board that makes possible a successful use of the sarne device on shirts having neck bands ofclifier'ent size.

Still further objects reside in the various details of construction and combination of parts that add to the safety, eliiciency and ease of operation or the machine.

In accomplishing these and other objects section, for better illustration.

Figure 4' 1s a horizontal sectional view,

taken through the machine substantially on line in Figure 1. v i s Figure 5 is a plan view of the ironing card and its base plate showing the adjustable ne'k band clamp and its actuating quadrant. I

"Figure 6 is a perspective view of the steam heated iron and "the board. Figure 7 is'a perspective 'view of the belt shitting mechanism and the releasing clutch.

exhaust pipe I l connected Figure 8 is an elevation of the safety looking means.

Fi ures is a pian'yiew of't'hesame; Referring more in detail to the drawings- The machine comprises a frame structure 'einbodyin the parallel, o posite side frames top rail 3' 1 and '2, each with a horizontal and supporting legs at joined, adjacent their lower ends, by the connecting pieces The ewe frames are joined rigidly in spaced relation bars 6 ch'ine. 4 H v ,Fixed upon the top rails of the side frames, at" oppositely disposed points, are standards 8 and 8 provided at their upper ends with bearings ,9 within which trunand 7 at opposite ends or theme by the upper and lower: connecting nions 10, projectingfrom the opp'osite'sides', 1

of an i'ro'ner 11, are fixed. The ironerlfi's rectangulariorin, constructed of n' etal'fand has a flat, horizontally disposed undersurg face 12 against which the piecesto' be ir oiied are pressed for ironing, asWillfpifesently'fbe describe'd,vand' the iron lisjradapte'd toYbe heated by a flow ofstearn therethrougnpro: vided for by the steain supply pipe 1 3" and thereof, v

Disposed within "the frame of the machine in substantiallya 'horizontal plane, is a; U-"

with an and;

shape'd rneniber l5 which has the ends of iitfs' opposite side Qnimhfs 15i15- pivotal'l'y supported from the legs 4 at onee'nd of the machine by nieans of a cifoss rod 16 extended through these ends and through brackets 17" that are fixed to the'leg's. At its closed end the supported through the ,imermediaey of a wheel 18 threaded onto a vertical, support ingjshatt 19, which, at its lower end, pivotally attached, as 19 to 'thelovve'r cross bar 7 and at its upper endeX-tends slidabl y.

through a: slot 20 in the closed] nd-q i i nieniber. i g

v bearings and 22 on l the side rails of this member 15"ifsa cross shaft 23 that is disposedcentr'ally belowthefiifong' irig' surface of the ironer 11 and 'is adapted. to be rotated by 'nea'ns' of a large gear wheel 25 that "is fixed at one end thereon This" gear is driven tlirough a train of gears coinprising a small fgear' ze-fr tafianleon a stub Mounted" in shaft that is;fiXed int'he side frame-anti which is fixed to or cast-integral witha somewhatlarger gear wheel 28] whichin tam,

is driven by a small gear 29 on one end of a driven shaft 30 that is rotatably mounted and extends transversely through the frame and at its opposite end has driving and idler belt wheels 31 and 32 respectively, thereon about which a driven belt 33 is extended.

Mounted Within the machine centrally below the ironer is a vertically disposed post 35 provided with a longitudinal slot 36 through which the shaft 23 operates and which permits vertical, longitudinal movement of the post. At its lower end the post is slidably fitted within an opening 37 in a guide plate 38 fixed horizontally between the leg connecting' members 5 of the side frames and at its upper end ithas a spider frame 39 fixed thereon wherein a pair of rollers 40 are mounted to horizontally support the base plate 41 of the ironing board 42, the ironing board being supportedin spaced relation to the base plate through the intermediacy of blocks or posts 43. A. pair of angle bars 44 are fixed in parallel relation on the spider frame and serve as guides within which the base plate-41 is H1OV able, it being supported on the rollers for adjustment in the longitudinal direction of the machine from a position beneath the inner end to a position forwardly thereof at the outer end of the guide bars at which position the shirts are placed on or removed from the board. 7

The ironing board is adapted to be raised against and lowered from the ironing surface 12 of the iron-er by vertical reciprocable movementof the post 35, this being effected by a pair of cams 46 that are fixed on the shaft 23 and which operate against rollers 47 supported at the ends of a pin 48 that extends through the post above the shaft. By this construction, each rotation of shaft 23 causes the post to be actuated upwardly to raise the ironing board against the ironing surface 12, and to then lower it to starting position, as shown in dotted and full lines, respectively in Figure 1.

l/Vhile a shirt is being placed in the ironing board prior to its being moved beneath and then advanced against the ironing surface, the post 35 is in its lowered position and the driving belt 33 operates about the idler wheel 32, then, after the shirt has been placed on the board and the board moved to a position below the ironer and it is desired to start the machine for the purpose of pressing the board against the iron, the operator shifts the belt onto the driving belt wheel 31 so that, through the train of driving gears previously described, the shaft 23 will be revolved and the cams 46 turned therewith so that, by their lifting contact with rollers 47, they lift the post and board. The belt is shifted by downward pressure against a pedal 50 fixed at the end of a shaft 51 supportedhorizontally in brackets 52 depending from the lower cross bars 7 at opposite ends of the frame. Fixed to the shaft is an upwardly extending arm 54, which, at its upper end, has pivotal connection with a cross bar 55 that is horizontally slidablein the upper portion of the frame and which at one end has an upwardly and laterally extended arm 56 provided at its end with a loop 57 which encircles the driving belt. A coiled spring 54 is attached to the arm 54 and to the frame of the machine so as to normally retain the bar at such position that the belt is held on the idler wheel, but when the operator presses down on the pedal 50 this rocks the arm 54 to shift the bar 55 and belt guide to move the belt onto the drive wheel 31. I

In order that this driving connection may be retained for a certain length of time after initial action without requiring a continued pressure on the pedal, and to provide for the automatic shifting of the belt to the idler wheel at the instant the ironing board reaches its upper limit of travel against the ironing surface so that it will be held there until the ironing operation is complete, I

have fixed on the shaft 23, a clutch collar 58 provided at diametrically opposite sides with notches 5959 and adjacent thereto, 1 have mounted rotatably on the shaft, a clutch collar 60 provided with a single tooth 61 that is adapted to seat in either of said notches. Pivotally supported from a bracket 63 fixed to a cross bar 64 in the frame, is a lever 65 provided at one end' with a yoke 66 that encloses the collar 61 with pivot pin 67 extended into the same, and at its other end has pivotal connection, as at 68 in Figure 7, with the lever 54, the connection being such that when the lever 54 is shifted laterally by pressure on the foot pedal, which also shifts the belt onto the drive wheel, the lever 65 slides the collar 60 away from collar 58 so that the tooth 61 is unseated from the notch 59. Then as the shaft 23 starts to rotate and collar 58 starts to rotate therewith, the notch 59 moves from registering alinement with the tooth 61 and the latter by its engagement with the adjacent end surface of. the collar 58 is prevented from moving back to normal position; thus it is retained out until the shaft 23 and collar 58 have been rotated through 180 degrees and the ironing board lifted against the ll'OIllIlg surface, at which time, the tooth 61 snaps back into the nextnotch 59' due to the tension provided by the spring 54 which acts then to pull the lever 54 back and thus shift the belt back onto the idler wheel. Thus the board remains at its upper position against the cironer. After sutlicient 1a: notch 59 ofcollar 58 and also shifts the belt onto the driving wheel soj fthatthe machine is againdriven until the shaft 23 has made another half revolution and 'thejboard has been moved to its lower initial position, at which time it is auto-' matically stopped by the movement of the belt shifter permitted by the teeth 61 in the notch 59. I

Mounted at one end of the ironing board is an adjustable 'n'ec'k band clamp. comprises a central block 7 O that is so mounted that it may be moved a limited distance longitudinally of the board by means of a seating of the shifting bar 71. The bar extends centrally along the under side of the board through guides 72 and with one end turned upwardly through a slot 73 in the board and fixed in the block '70 and its forward end portion turned downwardl through a slot 7 3 in the base plate and then again extended forwardly to near the forward end of the base plate where it has a stud 7 4 fixed therein. The studextends upwardly within an eccentricfl'sljot'7 5 in a quadrant 76 that is pivotally fixed by pin 77 to the top of the base plate. The quac'lr'ant has a handle 7 8 by means of which it be shifted so to adjust the roid rearward ly or forwardly to thereby ell feet corresponding shifting ofthe block 70. Theforward edge of the block is curved to fit'wi'thiri the fro'ntpart of a neck band of a shirt a'ndhas al 'notch' 79' to receive the has'eofa'col'lar butt ontor holding the neck band ends together and at its rear edge it has'a central projection 80 with outwardly diver ing tacesSl and spaced therefrom are outwardly diverging prongs 82 which extend into slots 83 provid'ed in wing blocks 8t 84! adapted to fit within a neck band at opposite sides and which are slidably retained between a flange plate 85 fixed to the rear end of the board and guide rollers 86 mounted'on the board at opposite sides of the projection 80;, The construction is such that vv'henthe block 70 is drawn forwardly by the bar 71, the diverging prongs 81 cause the *blocks8 l to be moved apart to thereby draw the neck band tightly about the blocks and when the block 70 is shifted back, the wing'blocks will again be -drawn toward each other-to loosen the band. The several blocks may be held in place by an overlying plat-e 87,1nounted onthe roller mounting studs.

There is provided in the inner end of the ironer 11, a curved recess 11- within which the neck band, clamp is adapted to fit when the ironing board is lifted against the ironer so that, with the neck band of a shirt fitted about the clamp and the board lifted to ironing position, the hand will be ironed at the same time the piece in the board is ironed.

The forward end of the clamp shifting bar 71 has a downturned end 71 which serves to actuate a safety locking device whereby This lever 90 supported pivot-ally irona'the frame with one arm 91 extended in position to fee engaged by the downturned-end7 1' ott'he bar 71 and havingfitsrother arm 92 extended into holding relation: with a pineson a disk 94 fiXMlt-O the sha tt 30L ltVhen theironboard is'shitted inwardly along the guide bars to a position beneath the ironer, the end 7170f thebar '71 engages arm 9 1and rocks the lever into position to prevent the shaft from turning, but when the operator tiirnsthe quadrant 76 topull outwardly on the bar 7'1, so that end 71 is moved forwardly, the bell crank lever is shifted by a spring-'96 attached thereto to release the shaft-so that,

the machine may operate.

A roller 98 is mounted :by standard s89 at the ti'ont end. of the ironing board across which the lower portion of the shirt is placed, and a crank 100 is provided torturifiing the roller. The roller, has protuberances therein which serve to'drawthe shirt tight s across-the't-op of the-board.

Forironing the cuffs of I provided the upwardly projecting block's 102 at the forward corners of the board over which the'cuiis maybe titted and have provided correspondingly shaped sockets 103 in the underside oft-he ironer' into which they wil'llbe pressed when the boardrs moved "against the iron.

r ssuming that the parts are so constructed, the operation of the device isas follows: The parts of the machine, at the start of an a shirt, I have lot) operation are so arranged that the ironing board will be in lowered position and the 'beltwill be operating about the idler wheel.

The operator firstdr'aws' the table 42 outwardly along the guide channels 44 so that it is uncovered by the ironen- He then places the shirt over the board 42 so that the bosom of the shirt is in position to be brougl'it in contact with the ironing surface when the board is lifted. He then fits the neck band of the shirt about the blocks 7 0,

84L'84E of the neck band clamp and tights ens the clamp within the band by movement of segment 76' and then laces" the cufisoit the shirt over the cuff blocks 102. The bosom of the shirt is drawn tight across the top of the board by pulling the'lower part of the shirt across the roller 98 and then rotating it so that its protuberances will catch and hold the shirt tight. The board 42 is then shifted inwardly along the guide channels to a position beneath the ironer. The operator next presses on pedal 50 to actuate arm 54 to shift the belt to the driving wheel and this starts the shaft 23 to rotating. Shifting of levers 54: also actuates lever 65 to unseat the clutch tooth 61 from the clutch notch 59 and retains the parts in driving position. The cams 4C6 rotate with the shaft 23 to lift the post to carry the ironing board against the ironer, at which time the driving connection is broken by the shifting of the belt back to the idler wheel incidental to the clutch tooth 61 dropping into the notch 59 in the clutch collar 58, as was previously described. After the shirt has been ironed for a time, the operator again presses on the pedal and the machine is again set in motion and this carries the board downwardly to starting position where it is again automatically stopped. The board may then. be drawn forwardly and the shirt removed. Thus, the bosom, neck band and cuffs are all ironed at the same operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

'1. In a device of the character described, a frame structure, a heated ironer supported horizontally by the frame, a vertical post supported reciprocally in the frame, centrally beneath the iron, a frame mounted on top of the post comprising a horizontal guideway and rollers therein, an ironing board having a base plate slidable along the guideway on said rollers to position the board directly beneath or at one end of the iron, a horizontal drive shaft, cams on the shaft, rollers on the post engaged by the cams to cause the post to be raised and lowered to actuate the board against and from the ironer, driving mechanism for the shaft including a belt operable over driving and idler wheels, a belt shifter, manually operable means for shifting the belt onto the driving wheel and automatically operable means for shifting it to the idler wheel when the post has been actuated to its upper or to its lower limit of travel. 7

2. In a device of the character described, a frame structure, a heated ironer supported horizontally by the frame, a vertical post supported reciprocally in the frame cent-rally beneath the ironer, a frame mounted on top of the post comprising a horizontal guideway and rollers therein, an ironing board having a base plate slidable along the guideway on said rollers to position the board directly beneath or at one end of the ironer, a horizontal drive shaft, camson the shaft, rollers on the post engaged by the cams to cause the post to be raised and lowered to actuate the board against and from the ironer, driving mechanism for the shaft including a belt operable over driving and idler wheels, a belt shifter comprising a rock shaft and lover and .yieldable means attached to the lever for retaining the belt normally on the idler wheel, a pedal foractuattion for driving and having notches therein at diametrically opposite points to receive the tooth when the post has'been lifted to its upper or to its lower limit of movement so as to permit shifting of the belt to the idler wheel.

3. In an ironing device of the character I described, an ironer provided with a fiat ironing surface and having upwardly formed sockets in one end, an ironing board adapted to be moved from and against the ironing surface and having upwardly extending blocks at one end over which the cuffs of a shirt that is placed on the board may be fitted, said blocks being adapted, when the board is raised against the ironer, to fit within the sockets of the ironer.

l. In an ironing device of the character described, an ironer provided with a fiat ironing surface on its under side and having a curved recess in one end and 'a pair of upwardly formed sockets atits opposite end, an ironing board movable from and against the ironing surface having a collar band clamp at one end about which the neck band of a shirt may be fitted and having upwardly projecting blocks at its other end over which the cuffs of the shirt may be fitted; said clamp and blocks bein adapted, when theboard is raised against the iron, to seat, respectively, within the curved recess and the sockets.

Signed at Everett, Snohomish County, Nashington, this 2nd day'of November, 1925.

CARL A. PETERSON. 

